2014 World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions (The 5Th of 43 Events in the 2014-2015 PGA TOUR Season)
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2014 World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions (The 5th of 43 events in the 2014-2015 PGA TOUR Season) Shanghai, China November 3-9, 2014 FedExCup Points: 550 (winner) Purse: $8,500,000 Sheshan International Golf Club Par/Yards: 36-36—72/7,266 Third-Round Notes – Saturday, November 08, 2014 Third-Round Leaderboard Player Score Graeme McDowell 67-67-71—205 (-11) Hiroshi Iwata 73-65-68—206 (-10) Martin Kaymer 69-72-66—207 (-9) Bubba Watson 71-67-69—207 (-9) Rickie Fowler 69-70-69—208 (-8) Tim Clark 69-70-69—208 (-8) Graeme McDowell Graeme McDowell carded a 71 in the third round to take a one-stroke lead through 54 holes at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China. Before Saturday, McDowell had posted six consecutive rounds in the 60s at Sheshan International Golf Club. McDowell has led/co-led after 54 holes two previous times on TOUR entering this week. Tournament Final-round score Finish 2011 THE PLAYERS Championship 79(+7) T33 2012 U.S. Open 73(+3) T2 McDowell’s final round scoring average on TOUR in 2013-14 was 69.20. McDowell has recorded five top-10 finishes in World Golf Championship events. Tournament Finish 2011 WGC-HSBC Champions 3 2013 WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship T5 2013 WGC-HSBC Champions 3 2013 WGC-Cadillac Championship T3 2014 WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship T5 McDowell’s lone professional victory in Asia came at in 2008 at The Championship at Laguna National previously known as the Ballatine Championship on the European Tour at Pinx Golf Club on the island of Jeju in South Korea. Despite being one of the top players in the world, McDowell has never reached the TOUR Championship by Coca- Cola on the PGA TOUR with his highest finish in the FedExCup coming in 2012 at No. 42. Hiroshi Iwata Hiroshi Iwata drained a birdie-putt from just off the 18 th green in Saturday’s third round for a 4-under 68 to post 10- under and get into the final group on Sunday. On the PGA TOUR, Iwata has played in the Open Championship twice (2008, 2014), and the Sony Open in Hawaii in 2009. He missed the cut in all three previous attempts on TOUR. Iwata, 33, won for the first time on the Japan Golf Tour at the Fujisankei Classic earlier this year. Iwata is one of seven players making their World Golf Championships debut this week. Aside from Jeff Maggert, who won the very first World Golf Championships at the 1999 Accenture Match Play Championship, no player has won a World Golf Championships in his first start in the series. Player Standing Felipe Aguilar T51 Hiroshi Iwata 2 Jason Knutsn T69 Anirban Lahiri T34 Antonio Lascuna T72 Brody Ninyette DQ* Marc Warren T24 Four Japanese-born players have won on the PGA TOUR. Player Tournament Isao Aoki 1983 Sony Open in Hawaii Ryuji Imada 2008 AT&T Classic Shigeki Maruyama 2001 Greater Milwaukee Open 2002 HP Byron Nelson Championship 2003 Wyndham Championship Hideki Matsuyama 2014 the Memorial Tournament No player from Japan has ever won a World Golf Champions event. Bubba Watson Bubba Watson birdied four of the last five holes on Saturday afternoon for a 3-under 69. Through three rounds Watson is 9-under on the par 5s. He birdied all four in the third round. In six victories on TOUR Watson has come from behind to win four times. Tournament Strokes behind 54-hole leader Final-round score 2010 Travelers Championship 6 66 (-4) 2011 Farmers Insurance Open 1 67 (-5) 2012 Masters Tournament 3 68 (-4) 2014 Northern Trust Open 4 64 (-7) Watson enjoyed his most successful season on the PGA TOUR last season as his two victories and career-high eight top-10 finishes helped him finish a career-best 5 th in the FedExCup standings. Watson’s final round scoring average in 2013-14 was 69.65. Martin Kaymer Martin Kaymer enters Sunday’s final round looking to become the first two-time champion at the HSBC Champions. Kaymer fired at final-round 63 and posted 20-under-par to win by three over Freddie Jacobsen in 2011. Last season Kaymer won THE PLAYERS Championship and the U.S. Open. He finished 16 th in the final FedExCup standings. In 2010 Kaymer started the final round of the PGA Championship three-strokes behind Nick Watney and posted a final-round 70 to get into a playoff with Bubba Watson. Kaymer would go on to win in extra holes over Watson and capture his first major championship. Miscellaneous Notes Rickie Fowler and Tim Clark are 8-under-par heading into the final round. Fowler finished in the top 5 in all four major championships in 2014 and finished in the top 10 in two of the three World Golf Championships events in 2014. Clark trailed Jim Furyk by three strokes at the RBC Canadian Open, fired a final-round 65, and earned his second victory on TOUR. Nine countries are represented in the current top 10 through 54 holes of the HSBC Champions. Six players representing China are in the field: Player Place Zhang Lianwei T62 Ashun Wu T15 Hao-tong Li T62 Wen-chong Liang T54 Ze-cheng Dou T62 Mu Hu T62 Quick review of tournament history: • The HSBC Champions was created in November 2005 and became an official European Tour and Asian Tour event beginning in 2006. Event champions during that timeframe: 2005 – David Howell; 2006 – Y.E. Yang; 2007 – Phil Mickelson; 2008 – Sergio Garcia. • In 2009, the HSBC Champions was granted World Golf Championships status but was an unofficial event on the PGA TOUR. Phil Mickelson’s win in 2009 is not considered an official PGA TOUR victory. • Beginning in 2010, the HSBC Champions counted as an official PGA TOUR victory and offered a three-year exemption on the PGA TOUR—provided the tournament was won by a PGA TOUR member. Prize money, however, did not count toward the official PGA TOUR money list, even in a PGA TOUR member won the tournament. Tournament winners during this timeframe include: 2010 Francesco Molinari (unofficial PGA TOUR win); 2011 – Martin Kaymer (unofficial PGA TOUR win); 2012 – Ian Poulter (official PGA TOUR win). • On the final day of the 2012 event, HSBC announced renewal of its title sponsorship through 2015, along with the announcement that the event would become a part of the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup. Dustin Johnson became the first champion to be awarded official money, FedExCup points (550), and a three-year exemption for his victory in 2013. Please visit pgatourmedia.com for further information. 2014 World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions (The 5th of 43 events in the 2014-2015 PGA TOUR Season) Shanghai, China November 3-9, 2014 FedExCup Points: 550 (winner) Purse: $8,500,000 Sheshan International Golf Club Par/Yards: 36-36—72/7,266 Third-Round Notes – Saturday, November 08, 2014 Third-Round Leaderboard Player Score Graeme McDowell 67-67-71—205 (-11) Hiroshi Iwata 73-65-68—206 (-10) Martin Kaymer 69-72-66—207 (-9) Bubba Watson 71-67-69—207 (-9) Rickie Fowler 69-70-69—208 (-8) Tim Clark 69-70-69—208 (-8) Graeme McDowell Graeme McDowell carded a 71 in the third round to take a one-stroke lead through 54 holes at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China. Before Saturday, McDowell had posted six consecutive rounds in the 60s at Sheshan International Golf Club. McDowell has led/co-led after 54 holes two previous times on TOUR entering this week. Tournament Final-round score Finish 2011 THE PLAYERS Championship 79(+7) T33 2012 U.S. Open 73(+3) T2 McDowell’s final round scoring average on TOUR in 2013-14 was 69.20. McDowell has recorded five top-10 finishes in World Golf Championship events. Tournament Finish 2011 WGC-HSBC Champions 3 2013 WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship T5 2013 WGC-HSBC Champions 3 2013 WGC-Cadillac Championship T3 2014 WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship T5 McDowell’s lone professional victory in Asia came at in 2008 at The Championship at Laguna National previously known as the Ballatine Championship on the European Tour at Pinx Golf Club on the island of Jeju in South Korea. Despite being one of the top players in the world, McDowell has never reached the TOUR Championship by Coca- Cola on the PGA TOUR with his highest finish in the FedExCup coming in 2012 at No. 42. Hiroshi Iwata Hiroshi Iwata drained a birdie-putt from just off the 18 th green in Saturday’s third round for a 4-under 68 to post 10- under and get into the final group on Sunday. On the PGA TOUR, Iwata has played in the Open Championship twice (2008, 2014), and the Sony Open in Hawaii in 2009. He missed the cut in all three previous attempts on TOUR. Iwata, 33, won for the first time on the Japan Golf Tour at the Fujisankei Classic earlier this year. Iwata is one of seven players making their World Golf Championships debut this week. Aside from Jeff Maggert, who won the very first World Golf Championships at the 1999 Accenture Match Play Championship, no player has won a World Golf Championships in his first start in the series. Player Standing Felipe Aguilar T51 Hiroshi Iwata 2 Jason Knutsn T69 Anirban Lahiri T34 Antonio Lascuna T72 Brody Ninyette DQ* Marc Warren T24 Four Japanese-born players have won on the PGA TOUR. Player Tournament Isao Aoki 1983 Sony Open in Hawaii Ryuji Imada 2008 AT&T Classic Shigeki Maruyama 2001 Greater Milwaukee Open 2002 HP Byron Nelson Championship 2003 Wyndham Championship Hideki Matsuyama 2014 the Memorial Tournament No player from Japan has ever won a World Golf Champions event.